Clear Channel Radio Launches Campaign Against Piracy

The Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) and its member labels are applauding Clear Channel Radio (CCR) for its new ad campaign against Internet music piracy. Clear Channel (CC), the biggest radio owner in the U.S.—with more than 1,200 radio stations—launched the campaign Nov. 21. It will air 30-second spots on its radio stations, its syndicated Premiere Radio Network programs, and its XM Satellite stations. (CC is an investor in XM Satellite Radio).

CCR CEO John Hogan tells Billboard the idea of the campaign is to minimize online music piracy. "Our hope is that, at a minimum, we can create an awareness and better understanding of the impact of [online piracy] on artists and the industry."

In the press release announcing the new campaign, RIAA chairman/CEO Hilary Rosen thanked the conglomerate for its efforts. She stated, "We need more media companies to help educate the consumer on the pressing issue of Internet theft and its consequences."

In October, the RIAA and a coalition of record companies, artists, and music organizations launched their own multimedia campaign to stop online music piracy. (Billboard, Oct. 5).

The spots will run as inventory becomes available. After an initial five- to six-week run, CC will determine whether to continue the campaign. Its Web sites will participate, and Hogan says he is in talks with the sister outdoor and TV divisions for participation on those fronts. No price for the campaign was available.

CC has long been the target of criticism from Congress and some quarters of the music business for its sheer size and power, Hogan says he hopes that the campaign will not only convince CC's audience to stem the flow of pirated online music but show the industry-at-large how the company's size can help. "I'd be kidding you if I said we didn't see the peripheral benefit to Clear Channel," Hogan says. "The fact that we've gotten unfairly portrayed in the last 12 to 15 months is something we think about and that I'm very interested in trying to reverse. This does show how influential Clear Channel can be when we put our collective resources behind an idea.

"One of the things I set out to do in this job is to have a better relationship [with] and understanding" of artists and labels, Hogan says. He says the piracy issue "consistently came up as something that was problematic for them. In thinking of what we could do to be better partners with artists and recording companies, we came upon this idea."

The company is also making the spots available to other broadcasters through downloads at clearchannel.com. At press time, the site had six generic spots as well as artist-voiced contributions from Sean Paul, Busta Rhymes, and Steve Wariner.

Executives at Arista, Atlantic, Columbia, Elektra, and RCA all voiced their support of the plan in the CC release.

The Recording Artists' Coalition (RAC), along with California state Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, a recording artists' advocate, offered reserved support for the new campaign, saying in a joint statement: "While the campaign is a 'complementary effort' to the artists' rights movement, RAC is still concerned about serious outstanding issues with Clear Channel, including the harmful effects of consolidation in radio and concert businesses and independent promotion payments [to radio stations] that are recouped against the artists."

Hogan says it is the first time that CCR has amassed its holdings in this way. "We have done things collectively in the past, but this is the first time we have done something of this nature."

And while Hogan has no specific projects waiting in the wings, he says the company may undertake similar campaigns in the future: "We have an opportunity and a responsibility because of the breadth of our company to do a lot of good and to help raise the tide of radio in general."

Hogan is quick to point out, however, that despite their size, CC's U.S. holdings represent only 12%-13% of stations in the nation. "This can't be done without real collaborative effort" with other broadcasters.



Additional reporting by Bill Holland in Washington, D.C.